The 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' star narrowly missed out on nabbing the role in 2006 and he is determined to get a second chance at it, when the first post-Craig Bong movie starts shooting in 2022. A source told the Daily Star Sunday: ''Henry got down to the last two to play Bond back in 2006 but lost out to Daniel as bosses thought he was too young.

''He wants to put himself in the best possible place to get the job next time and sees becoming a qualified stuntman as another impressive string to his bow.'' Henry believes that being a qualified stuntman will give him an edge over other candidates, with Idris Elba and Aidan Turner among those who are in the frame.

Henry, 35, said: ''Bond would be a fun role. It's British, it's cool.

''I think now that I have my 'Mission: Impossible' badge we can do real stunts and amp it up.''

He said: ''All the usual stuff you hear about Tom, charming, professional, always on time, kind. That's all by-the-by.

''When I met him, I was like, 'Okay, good, this is all true'. What got me was that I'm not easily impressed by people, I'm just not. But Tom impressed me.

''He's stunt flying a helicopter in the mountains, all while acting to cameras and all for the audiences' sake. I was watching him doing this, and I thought, 'You know what, you just made my impressive list, you're a badass.'''